Jonathan Birch

Jonathan Birch
birthday	15th February 1968 (age 52)
place of birth	Middlesbrough
nationality	England
professional	1990 - 2005
Prize money	£ 288,065
Highest break	144 ( Benson and Hedges Championship 1997 )
Century Breaks	28
World rankings
Highest WRL place	42 ( 1998/99 )
Best results
Ranked tournaments	1 × quarter-finals ( Dubai Classic 1993 )
Other professional tournaments	1 × semi-finals ( Benson and Hedges Championship 1992 ) 1 × winner ( WPBSA Pro Ticket Series 1989/3 )
Amateur tournaments	1 × U21 amateur world champion ( 1987 )

Jonathan Birch (born February 15, 1968 in Middlesbrough ) is a former English snooker player who, after winning the U21 Amateur World Championship in 1987, spent fifteen years as a professional player between 1990 and 2005 and during this time both the semifinals of the Dubai Classic 1993 and the semi-finals reached the semifinals of the Benson and Hedges Championship in 1992 and on the other hand the 42nd place in the snooker world rankings .

Career

Amateur career

Birch was born in 1968 in Middlesbrough, England, and first made a name for himself as a snooker player when he took part in four editions of the WPBSA Pro Ticket Series between 1985 and 1987 , with a participation in the quarterfinals of the second event in which he took part being his best result was. In the same year he took part in the northern qualifying competition of the English Amateur Championship , where he reached the finals, but there lost 6-8 to Mark Rowing . A short time later, Birch also reached the final of the U21 amateur world championship , in which he prevailed 5-1 against Stefan Mazrocis . After losing to Euan Henderson in the quarter-finals of the English Championship's northern qualifying competition in 1988 , he took part in the Dutch Open , defeating Dean Reynolds and John Parrott there , before beating two-time professional world champion Alex Higgins 6-2 in the final .

In the same year Ferguson again took part in two events of the WPBSA Pro Ticket Series and reached the final at the third event of the year, but lost to Jason Ferguson . In the amateur sector he took part in the European Snooker Championship , where he was eliminated from six games in the group stage despite four wins. In 1989 Ferguson tried on the one hand his luck in the professional play-offs and lost there his opening game against Brady Gollan and on the other hand again in the northern qualifying competition of the English Amateur Championship, where he probably had to admit defeat in the semi-finals Nigel Bond .

In the same year Birch took part again in the WPBSA Pro Ticket Series and reached the semifinals at the first event of the year, in which he had to admit defeat to Jason Prince . A few months later, at the third event , he made it into the final with a win over Peter Lines , which he won 5: 4 against Drew Henry and thus qualified for a professional career. A short time later he also managed to make it to the final of the amateur world championship unbeaten , in which he had to admit defeat by 2:11 to the Irish Ken Doherty . For the 1990/91 season Birch finally became a professional player.

First professional years

Birch's first professional season was very successful for him, when he did not get past the round of 96 in only three tournaments and reached the round of the last 64 and the round of 32 in three further tournaments. He also reached the round of 16 in the men's individual competition at the World Masters , a tournament without any impact on the world rankings, and at the UK Championship , in which he had to admit defeat to Steve Longworth and Nigel Bond . As a result, Birch placed himself in 55th place in the world rankings. In the next season , however, Birch was only able to match his results from the previous season to a limited extent, when he made it past the round of 64 in only two of eight tournaments. He moved into the round of 32 at the European Open with wins over Marcel Gauvreau and Eddie Charlton and was eliminated by John Parrott , while he had previously defeated the Englishmen Bob Harris and Willie Thorne and again Eddie Charlton at the Strachan Open , before losing to Nigel Bond in the round of 16. Nevertheless, he improved by eleven places to 44th place.

Also during the 1992/93 season Birch was eliminated in ten of thirteen tournaments at the latest in the round of 32. His other three results were completely distributed among so-called minor ranking tournaments, which were not fully-fledged world ranking tournaments, but nevertheless had a small influence on the world ranking list. He reached the last sixteen at the third event of the Strachan Challenge , the quarterfinals at the first event of the same tournament series and the semifinals at the Benson & Hedges Championship , in which he lost to Alan McManus . In the world rankings, he was able to hold onto his 44th place. In the following season , however, Birch's results deteriorated insofar as he only reached the round of 64 in three tournaments and was eliminated from the UK Championship in this round. While he made it into the round of 32 at the Welsh Open and lost to Ken Doherty there , he made it to the quarter-finals of the Dubai Classic with victories over Mike Hallett , Dennis Taylor and Terry Griffiths , in which he won one clear 0: 5 Stephen Hendry had to admit defeat. Despite this success, he slipped to 50th place in the world rankings.

Promotion to 42nd place

In the course of the 1994/95 season Birch lost his opening game in six of nine tournaments in the round of 96. Apart from that, he was eliminated at the Dubai Classic in the round of 64, at the Thailand Open in the round of 48 and in the British Open after beating Tony Drago in the round of 32. As a result, he slipped to 63rd place in the world rankings. The next season went a little better , in which Birch won his opening game in five of eleven tournaments, but was eliminated in four cases in the subsequent round of the last 64. Only at the German Open did he reach the round of the last 48 with wins over Shokat Ali and Ian McCulloch , in which he had to admit defeat to Neal Foulds . On the world rankings, he has thus deteriorated by one place to 64th place.

But for the 1996/97 season there was an improvement in form when he lost only three opening games and was eliminated four times in the round of the last 64 and two more times in the round of the last 48. He also reached the round of 32 at the Grand Prix and at the European Open with victories over Patrick Wallace , Wayne Jones , Neal Foulds and Dave Harold the round of 16 and lost in the first tournament against Euan Henderson and in the second against Stephen Hendry . In the world rankings, he thus improved by almost twenty places to rank 45. Despite five opening defeats Birchs form high set in the following season continued when he at the UK Championship the Round of 64, both the Grand Prix and the Thailand Masters the Round of 32 and the quarter-finals of the Benson and Hedges Championship , a non-ranking tournament. As a result, he improved to 42nd place in the world rankings and thus occupied the best world rankings of his career.

More years in the 40s and 50s of the world rankings

During the 1998/99 season , Birch usually only achieved average results when he lost his opening game in three tournaments and was eliminated in four more in the round of the last 64. He only got beyond this round in two tournaments, where he was eliminated from Matthew Stevens in the round of the last 48 - the final qualifying round - of the World Snooker Championship and lost to Anthony Hamilton in the round of 32 of the China Internationals . In the world rankings, he slipped eleven places to 53rd. But after he had lost three opening games in the next season , was eliminated six times in the round of 64 and thus only reached the round of 32 at the Grand Prix with a victory over Steve Davis and in this was defeated by Ali Carter , he improved ranked 44th in the world.

In the course of the 2000/01 season Birch lost again in five of nine tournaments his opening game, while he was eliminated in the remaining tournaments only once in the round of 64. He managed to get into the round of 48 at both the British Open and the UK Championship - where he gave up his game after five of a maximum of seventeen frames due to illness - as well as at the Snooker World Championship , in which he was eliminated. In the world rankings, however, he fell six places to 50th. In the following season , Birch was mostly eliminated in his second round at the latest, although he only got over this in three tournaments. He was eliminated from the Thailand Masters in the round of 48 and both the British Open and the LG Cup in the round of 32. On the world rankings he was able to improve to 47th place.

Last professional years

In the 2002/03 season Birch was able to win his opening game in only two of nine tournaments, but retired from both the British Open and the World Snooker Championship in the round of 48. This rate worsened with the next season to only won an opening game, in which case he was eliminated at the European Open in the round of the last 48. Nevertheless, it initially held its level on the world rankings and only deteriorated by one place before falling to 64th place.

But in the 2004/05 season Birch managed not a single win, so he did not win a single game. On the world rankings, he slipped to 84th place. As a result, he lost his professional status after fifteen years of professionalism and subsequently ended his professional career. Several years later, in the course of the 2011/12 season , Birch tried his luck again in professional tournaments when he took part in several events of the Players Tour Championship as an amateur without much success .

successes

output	year	competition	Final opponent	Result
Amateur tournaments
Second	1987	English Amateur Championship - North	Mark Rowing	6: 8
winner	1987	IBSF U21 World Snooker Championship	Stefan Mazrocis	5: 1
winner	1988	Dutch Open	Alex Higgins	6: 2
Second	1988/3	WPBSA Pro Ticket Series	Jason Ferguson	2: 5
winner	1989/3	WPBSA Pro Ticket Series	Drew Henry	5: 4
Second	1989	IBSF World Snooker Championship	Ken Doherty	2:11

Web links

• Profile of Jonathan Birch on CueTracker
• Profile of Jonathan Birch on snooker.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e} Ron Florax: Career Total Statistics For Jonathan Birch - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 6, 2020 .  
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o} Ron Florax: Ranking History For Jonathan Birch. CueTracker.net, accessed February 6, 2020 .  
3. ↑ Jonathan Birch. trendcelebsnow.com, accessed February 6, 2020 .  
4. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1985-1986 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 7, 2020 .  
5. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1986-1987 - Professional Results. CueTrtacker.net, accessed February 7, 2020 .  
6. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1986-1987 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 7, 2020 .  
7. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1987-1988 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 7, 2020 .  
8. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1988-1989 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 7, 2020 .  
9. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1988-1989 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 7, 2020 .  
10. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1989-1990 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 7, 2020 .  
11. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1989-1990 - Non-professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 7, 2020 .  
12. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1990-1991 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 8, 2020 .  
13. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1991-1992 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 8, 2020 .  
14. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1992-1993 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 8, 2020 .  
15. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1993-1994 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 8, 2020 .  
16. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1994-1995 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
17. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1995-1996 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
18. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1996-1997 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
19. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1997-1998 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
20. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1998-1999 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
21. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 1999-2000 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
22. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 2000-2001 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
23. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 2001-2002 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
24. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 2002-2003 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
25. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 2003-2004 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
26. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 2004-2005 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .  
27. ↑ Ron Florax: Jonathan Birch - Season 2011-2012 - Professional Results. CueTracker.net, accessed February 9, 2020 .